On Saturday, 28 March 2020, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) achieved a new milestone. The orchestra played to an empty Victoria Concert Hall while its performance was livestreamed over Facebook and YouTube.
Due to COVID-19, the Victoria Concert Hall had been closed to the public and the SSO had suspended all concerts and events on 26 March 2020.
The Spirit of Serenity
Instead, the scaled down orchestra, featuring musicians set apart from each other, performed the concert “The Spirit of Serenity” for the cameras instead. The orchestra’s performance was led by Associate Concertmaster Kong Zhao Hui and conducted by Darrell Ang.
The repertoire for the evening consisted of Britten’s Simple Symphony, Op. 4; Pärt’s Cantus in memory of Benjamin Britten; and Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings.
Singapore Symphony Orchestra Livestreamed
Conductor Darrell Ang said, “This was my first livestream concert, and I’m glad to say I enjoyed every minute of it. I’d like to thank the SSO for this wonderful gift of music to the Singapore community and to the world in these difficult times. Many thanks especially to our healthcare workers for their courage and selflessness: please accept our heartfelt gratitude from all of us onstage tonight! A big ‘thank you’ too to all those who came online to join us in this special hour, without whose support and love the music would be meaningless! And to my friends and colleagues in the SSO: Bravissimo!”
The video stream of the one-hour concert garnered 15,000 views on Facebook and 800 views on YouTube.
The SSO will announce future online concerts at a later date.
The concert’s programme notes can be found here.
View the concert on YouTube.
